Past Year....2003

Indoor Track & Field Season 2003

The Indoor T & F season kicked off with the Mayo County Championships held in Nenagh on Sat., 25 January 2003. A very well attended event saw over 160 athletes, representing the 6 registered juvenile clubs in the county,compete for the County title in all disciplines from U 11 to U 19.

The next outing was the Connaught Indoors, again in Nenagh on Sat/Sun, March1/2. Again some great performances from Castlebar athletes with over 20 qualifying for the All Ireland Championships in individual events together with 3 relay teams.

In the All Ireland series there were some heroic performances, none moreso than that of Stephen Walsh who took his first National title in the U 14 60m hurdles. Stephen devestated a top class field in the final in what was his debut, not alone in a national T & F championships but in the hurdles discipline itself. To cap a marvellous weekend he also picked up a bronze medal for his 3rd place finish in the 60m sprint.

His classmate Daniel McNicholas was not to be outdone and was unlucky to be pipped on the line in the U13 600m in what was the race of the weekend. Daniel, already an All Ireland champion in Cross Country in 2002, will be well pleased with his silver medal in his first track outing at national level where he also finished 5th in both 60m Sprint and Long Jump which shows his all round ability.

Ann Nolan showed a welcome return to form with a silver medal in the U 16 Shot Putt with a throw of 10.55m.She will now look forward to the outdoor season with renewed confidence.

18 year old Joe Corcoran took his first National Title in the Triple Jump an event that he has spent many hours of training at over the years.

Some excellent results from other athletes did not yield medals on this occasion but their performances were very commendable.The U 13 Boys Relay team of Daniel McNicholas, David Gavin, Shane Moran, John Daly & Ciaran Mulgrew were extremely unlucky to be disqualified on a technicality having romped home in first place. No doubt they will put the record straight next year !

the hurdles

Congratulations to Brendan Roache who won the Club's first All Ireland medal of 2003 when he took Bronze in the Triple Jump at the National Junior (Under 20) Indoor Championships on 2nd February last. Brendan is the first athlete to represent the club at this level for many years.Well done, Brendan !!

Outdoor Track & Field Season 2003

Once again some marvellous performances from our athletes, many of whom were competing in competition for the first time.Excellent results in the county and regional Track & Field competitions ensured that the club was well represented at the annual All Ireland finals in Tullamore in July.

Two new names have appeared on our National Titleholder's table following the achievements of Sally Rose Maughan and Joe Corcoran in taking home gold medals from these championships. 10 year old Sally became the club's youngest athlete for many years to take a national title on the track when she was first to hit the tape in the fiercely competitive U-11 60m sprint while Joe was rewarded for his dedication with a terrific win in the U-19 Triple Jump. Last year Joe picked up his first All-Ireland medal and it was marvellous for him to take the National Title in his final year in juvenile athletics.

Add to this the performance of Steven Walsh (Gold - U 14 75m Hurdles), Daniel Mc Nicholas (Gold - U 13 600m , Silver - U 13 Long Jump), David Joyce (Bronze - U 14 600m) and Damian Hall (Bronze - U 19 Triple Jump)and you are looking at the club's best return for the T & F season for many years.

2003 Cross Country Season

It was always going to be difficult to top the 2002 performance of the Club in the 2003 Cross Country Season and this is actually what transpired. Having said that, there were many encouraging performances culminating in two further All Ireland medals being won by Castlebar A.C. athletes.

Pride of place must go to David Joyce who retained his National C/C Title in tremendous style at windy Fintra, Killybegs on Dec.14. In the closest finish of the day he pipped newcomer of Finn Valley on the line to take the Under 14 title having won the Under 13 race in 2002. David picked up a further individual medal two weeks earlier in finishing 7th in the U 15 event in Mullingar where the Club were extremely unlucky not to have another title in the bag. Young Sally Rose Maughan showed her massive all round athletic ability by finishing second and taking the individual silver medal in the U 11 race to add to her national title in the 60m sprint on the track earlier in the year. This young athlete is surely a star of the future. Watch this space as I have no doubt her name will be appearing on a regular basis in the future.

Ferghal Durkan & Cian Costello ran brilliantly in representing their Club, County & Province in the U 12 race in Killybegs while 9 year old Niall Fahey flew the flag as our lone runner in the U 11 race in Mullingar. Niall will be eligible again for this age group next year and the experience gained will stand to him next time round.

As regards team events the club were a little unfortunate not to be in the medals in a number of the age groups. The U 11 Girls team came closest finishing 4th overall with all team members running in their very first All Ireland C/C competition. The team comprised of Shona Conway, Rebecca Conway, Fiona Naughton, Aisling Towey, Katie McManamon & Sally Rose Maughan.They will be back !

The U 14 girls had their best result to date taking 5th place, led home by Kathryn Sullivan who ran a tremendous race to finish 23rd, followed home by Deirdre Doherty, Denise Roache, Stephanie Forde, Eimear Minogue & Lisa McManamon.The Boys U 14 team had an identical final placing with the team comprising of David Joyce, Steven Walsh, David Gavin, John Daly, Ciaran Mulgrew & Shane Moran.

Well done to all concerned and keep up the good work.